The Wonder of God's Will

“The angel of the Lord appeared to her and said, ‘You are sterile and childless, but you are going to conceive and have a son….and he will begin the deliverance of Israel from the hands of the Philistines.”

Judges 13:3, 5 

 To the husbands and wives who desire to extend their family legacy there can be no harsher emotional blow than to ascertain that they are unable to conceive a child. Sterility is like a slow burn that continues to afflict and torment the hopes and dreams of men who can’t experience fatherhood in traditional fashion and women who can’t experience motherhood without alternate solutions. In the ancient world there was no formal process or agency for adoption, and there was certainly no advanced fertility medication. Therefore, the realization that parenthood was never going to be achieved was a bitter pill that many struggled to swallow in biblical times (just as it is today).

It is with this perspective that we encounter Judges 13. Manoah, a husband and Israelite, was in this very predicament. His wife was barren and unable to have children. But one day an angel appeared to Manoah’s wife and informed her that she would indeed have a child, a son. What joy must have overwhelmed Manoah’s wife. She was a woman who yearned to hold a tender baby in her arms, and care for it with earnest affection. She wanted to personally behold the spectacle of a child’s laugh and savor the dependency offspring require from their parents. But this longing had previously been denied until one fateful day when a divine messenger changed her outlook with the promising news. The tears of agony could be replaced with tears of elation. The cries of brokenness could be replaced with cries of praise.

 It is God’s work in this account that draws my fixed attention for it reveals something fascinating about the Creator and Sustainer. He took a non-functioning womb and healed it so that a hero of Israel could arise: Sampson. Sampson’s charge before he was even born was to fight the Philistines, who had attacked and harrassed many Israelites at this point in history. In essence, God took a tragic situation and made it into a holy masterpiece. He transformed two dashed hearts by overwhelming them with His great blessing.

Clearly, God delights in proving His power in this weak, frail world. Sampson’s parents were tormented by the pain of being barren for so many years. But God determined to reconcile that in a most magnificent fashion. Not only would the discouraged wannabe parents actually have a child, but their child would become God’s hand-picked defender of Israel from Philistine oppression and occupation. God conveys His message, a message that is spiritually rich, strong, and powerful. Let us receive it with obedient hearts and open ears. That is what Manaoh’s wife did. As soon as the angel relayed his dispatch she went and found Manoah, and told him everything. Did he mock her? No. Did he accuse of being deranged or hysterical? No. Judges 13:8 says Manoah prayed that the divine messenger would return so that he and his wife would know how to properly raise the miraculous child, a gift of heaven. And God heard Manoah’s prayer and sent the angel once again to relay additional guidance, instruction, and encouragement.

 

Obviously, nothing is impossible with God. But choosing to be grateful for what we have and praising God for His glorious, and at times mysterious, will is critical to living a sanctified life. There is wonder in God’s ways. There is wonder in God’s Word. All of which should produce worship from His followers. Manoah and his wife perceived that no feat was too tough for God, even infertility, but their commitment to God was not reliant upon His supernatural touch. They revered God, no matter how much personal prosperity was ushered into their home. As a result, they were fit for God’s special assignment: raising a future judge for God’s covenantal people. After all, it is not the miracles that should affix our heart to God; it should be the indisputable, irrevocable majesty of our Maker that should affix our heart to Him. God is God and that alone merits our allegiance and adulation.